Reach level 6 (or observe another player doing so) to gain the rank of Pin Pro.

Achievement Guide for Pin Pro

Achievement won on 27 Mar 13TA Score for this game: 86
Posted on 13 August 13 at 06:51

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Introduction

Unlike most other Kinect Sports Gems, this game is the same as the Main Event in Kinect Sports. As such, the gameplay is just bowling, which each game lasting 10 frames.

As with all Kinect Sports Gems, gaining levels is not based on gaining experience or burning calories. To gain levels, you must complete challenges.

For this achievement, you will need to obtain 37 stars by completing challenges. Most of the challenges will come naturally, but some do require a change in gameplay.

Game Tips

Frames - There are 10 frames per game. The first 9 frames consist of 10 pins. The final frame consists of a maximum of 30 pins. To have the chance of knocking down all 30 pins in the final frame, you need to hit three strikes in a row. If you fail to get a spare or a strike in the first two balls in the 10th frame, the game will end before the third ball.

Strike - A strike is when all 10 pins are knocked down with the first ball in a frame. You will need to be able to get strikes consistently to complete the game. Find a technique that works for you, and then memorise your positions and movements. I noted down the starting positions of my feet, and then stepped forward with my right foot whilst moving my right arm towards the Kinect. I lined myself up so that the ball was not directly centre, but off to one side very slightly.

Spare - A spare is when all 10 pins are knocked down within a frame, assuming you do not get a strike within the first ball. For example, you get 9 pins with your first ball, and then the final 1 pin with your second ball.

Spin - You can put spin on the ball by moving your arm in the direction of the spin immediately after rolling the ball. I found this to be particularly useful when aiming for the outermost pins, throwing the ball down the centre, and then spinning the ball outwards towards them.

Fast and Slow balls - There are various challenges that require fast and slow balls. The majority of your bowls should be fast balls, as the extra power is often useful in knocking over pins. For a slow ball, I lowered my body and moved my arm very slowly forwards, directly down the centre. Note that strikes with slow balls can be very frustrating, as even with a good line, the pace of the ball may fail to knock down all pins. Fortunately, there is no need to achieve more than one slow strike per game in any challenge.

Overarm throw - Another of the challenges requires overarm throws. Imagine you are throwing a shotput, or throwing a dart. I aimed myself down the centre of the lane, and made sure the Kinect knew what I was doing with my arm. It was very frustrating, and you will need four strikes using this method with one of the last challenges of the game. As with slow balls, there is no need to achieve more than one strike using this method in any one game.

Scoring - If you are unfamiliar with the scoring in bowling, please see here. In short, strikes and spares in any one frame will award you with bonus points in later frames. Using one of the examples in the above link, a strike in frame one, followed by 7 total pins in frame two will mean that the player has scored (10+7) 17 in frame one, and 7 in frame two. Therefore, two frames will equal a score of 24 (17+7), despite only knocking down 17 pins. The scoring gets a little complicated with multiple strikes in a row, but the link above explains it very well.

Simply put, to obtain higher scores, aim to complete the game with as few 'open frames' as possible. Open frames are frames where there are still pins remaining after two rolls. The maximum score is 300, obtained by rolling 12 consecutive strikes, but you will not need anywhere near this for the completion. There is one challenge requiring 7 strikes in a game, but this is the hardest in terms of points.

Challenges

I won't include detailed information on challenges here. See the The King Pin solution for detailed tips on the more difficult challenges. Other than that, should you need tips for any other specific challenges, please ask for them in the comments section. Alternatively, I have created a walkthrough on TrueAchievements, which has tips for all challenges in the game: